This invention relates to hanger assemblies for suspending heavy objects such as ceiling fans, and particularly to a hanger assembly that may be easily installed to bridge the distance between two beams or joists. The hanger assembly will easily accommodate beams or joists spaced at various offsets.
The National Electrical Code currently specifies a maximum acceptable weight of 80 pounds for ceiling light fixtures and 70 pounds for ceiling fans. It is therefore important to provide proper support for these potentially heavy devices to accommodate the static and, in the case of ceiling fans, dynamic loads that are encountered.
Light fixtures and ceiling fans are commonly mounted centrally on the ceiling of a room, and, in most cases, the exact center of a room does not coincide with the location of an overhead beam or joist from which to suspend the fixture. It therefore becomes necessary to provide overhead support in the exact center of the room from which to anchor the fixture or fan. Contractors typically provide overhead support by cutting a 2xe2x80x3xc3x974xe2x80x3 header to the proper size to bridge the distance between overhead joists and then fastening it to the joists with nails or screws.
Typically, in new home construction, the building is framed out well before the electrical contractor arrives to install ceiling fans, light fixtures, and other electrical devices. It therefore becomes impractical and inconvenient for an electrical contractor to carry a cutting device to the work site. A need therefore exists for a device and method to easily provide overhead support for a heavy hanging object such as a light fixture or a ceiling fan.
For installation of light fixtures and ceiling fans in existing homes, many manufacturers produce expandable fixture support units that are inserted through the normal junction box hole in a ceiling to save the effort of creating a larger hole. A typical fixture support unit of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,923 to Reiker (hereinafter the ""923 patent). This patent describes a heavy-duty expansible junction box hanger assembly adapted for installation from beneath a ceiling through a junction-box aperture in the ceiling without complete prior removal of a previously installed light-weight hanger assembly. The portion of the light-weight hanger directly above the aperture is cut away, and the heavy duty hanger is maneuvered through the aperture to a position above the light-weight hanger. A pair of feet on each end of the heavy duty hanger straddle the light-weight hanger and rest on the upper ceiling surface, aligning the heavy duty hanger parallel to the ceiling, after which joist engagement means on the hanger assembly are expanded into biting contact with the joists.
Although the ""923 patent and similar devices provide an adequate device for providing overhead support for a heavy fixture, it and similar devices have the disadvantage of being composed of a number of mechanical parts, thereby making it a complex device that is relatively expensive to manufacture. It is limited to bridging a minimum distance of 14.25xe2x80x3. Additionally, if the existing overhead joists are not arranged parallel to each other, no provision is made for squaring the junction box with the room. A need therefore exists for a simple, relatively inexpensive device for providing overhead support for a heavy hanging object such as a light fixture or a ceiling fan. Additionally, the device should be capable of bridging a wide range of distances between joists and allow for easy squaring of junction boxes with the room in which they are to be installed.
The present invention comprises a hanger assembly comprised of a longitudinal member and end brackets attached to and pivotable with respect to the member. The length of the longitudinal member is selected to span the maximum distance typically encountered with overhead joists and beams. The hanger assembly provides the advantages of being of simple construction, inexpensive, capable of spanning a wide range of distances between joists, and allowing easy squaring of junction boxes with the room in which they are installed.